When fishing with live bait such as minnows it is highly desirable, especially for still fishing as opposed to trawling, to have the head of the bait facing rearwardly, in proximity to the hook on which it is desired to catch a game fish. This follows from the fact that game fish tend to swallow their bait head first. It is also desirable to keep the bait fish alive as long as practicable and to have it move in a natural way. It is also desirable that, in biting into the bait the game fish should not be obstructed by the hook on which it is desired to ensnare him. For this purpose I have found that it is an advantage to have free relative rotation between the bait and the ensnaring hook so that the latter is free to slide into the game fish's mouth when he goes for the bait. While there have been prior suggestions for means of keeping bait fish alive these have tended to obstruct the natural movement of its fins or to be too cumbersome and complicated or both.